It was confirmed on Wednesday that Newcastle United had agreed on a deal to sign Real Sociedad’s Alexander Isak.
The 22-year-old is regarded as one of the most exciting young forwards in Europe and emerged as a target for Newcastle club chiefs after they missed out on French youngster Hugo Ekitike earlier in the summer.
Mirror Football understands the Magpies could eventually pay in excess of £60million to sign Isak, who has been a target for a number of Premier league sides across the past 18 months, and his arrival can help bolster Eddie Howe’s options in attack, with injury concerns an ever-present threat for key centre forward Callum Wilson.
The England international has scored twice in three games to start the season but was substituted in the 70th minute of the 3-3 draw with Manchester City after complaining of discomfort in his hamstring.
Newcastle did bring in Chris Wood from Burnley in January in an attempt to bolster the attack, however the New Zealand international has struggled for goals, netting his first in nine competitive appearances against Tranmere Rovers in the Carabao Cup in midweek.
Despite his big reputation, Isak too struggled to find the net on a regular basis in Spain last season - just six of the Swedish international’s 33 La Liga goals came in the last campaign. Although he did net a further four in European competitions, taking his season tally to a combined ten.
In terms of Expected Goals (xG), he finished the campaign with a combined total of 13.79 according to Wyscout.
What this means is that based on the chances he received, he would have been expected to score closer to 14 rather than ten. Less efficient finishing combined with some bad luck is likely to be the explanation there.
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There were also wider team factors that impacted Isak last season. Real Sociedad enjoyed a strong domestic campaign, finishing sixth in La Liga. However, a lot of their success was built on strong defensive foundations. Only four sides conceded fewer goals.
Yet that defensive solidity came at the expense of the attack, and there were only six teams who netted fewer goals, while they ranked middle of the pack in terms of shots attempted. It’s no coincidence that in the La Liga campaign prior when Sociedad seemed to approach games with more attacking freedom, scoring the fifth most La Liga goals, Isak netted 17 times.
Isak has a pretty unique profile and stands at an imposing 6ft4in. While this makes him a handful for central defenders, it’s worth noting that his aerial threat isn’t as prevalent as you’d expect. None of his goals last season were headers, and his last such goal came back in February 2021.
However, he makes up for this with really impressive technical ability, which will be good news for Howe as he continues to implement a more possession-based philosophy at the club in the coming seasons.
The 22-year-old has great spatial awareness and regularly finds ways to pick the ball up in valuable central positions.
He’s a good dribbler, though less in the sense of picking the ball up and driving at a defence, but instead using quick feet to evade defenders and create himself openings in which to shoot or lay a ball off to a teammate. He’s also a strong presser without possession too, something you might have expected given the solidity of Sociedad last season.
